I thought long and hard about whether or not I wanted to share Mila’s birth story here because birth is such an intimate, personal experience and one that I hold close to my heart. But I enjoy reading birth stories so I thought it would be fun to write out my own and share it here for other’s to read.

So here we go…

I will preface this by saying that my pregnancy and birth experiences with Mila and Eloise were completely different.

In comparison, my pregnancy with Eloise was a breeze and considered a healthy “textbook” pregnancy with no complications. I pretty much only felt bad in the first trimester and, besides a bit of swelling towards the end, I felt great. As for pregnancy with Mila, I was constantly fatigued, low energy and had a high-risk diagnosis (will elaborate on that later).

My delivery with Eloise was kind of traumatic. I had to be induced and opted for an epidural. Eloise’s heart rate dropped several times while laboring and I had to be given oxygen. While delivering, I had a second degree tear and pretty severe blood loss. Recovery was brutal and I felt completely washed out for weeks after delivery. Whereas, my labor and delivery with Mila was so smooth and my recovery was so easy.

That just goes to show that every pregnancy and birth experience can be wildly different, even in the same mother.

Pregnancy with Mila

During my pregnancy with Mila, I felt nauseous off and on the entire pregnancy, had days that my bones literally ached, felt like I had the flu at times, SO many tension headaches and also experienced quite a bit of ‘baby blues’ – what I would describe as a mental fog of mild depression that I didn’t even realize I had until after I gave birth when that fog lifted instantly. I was also diagnosed with gestational diabetes with this pregnancy and was considered high-risk. I consider myself a health conscious person so this diagnosis came as a complete shock. I did not take the diagnosis lightly and, upon finding out, I completely overhauled my diet, ate low-carb, high-fat and checked my glucose levels diligently. I was closely monitored by my doctor and had lots of ultrasounds to make sure baby wasn’t gaining too much too soon and that my body was handling the pregnancy well. My doctor told me I was “a good diabetic” and that it shouldn’t cause myself or the baby any complications. Luckily, I was able to manage my blood sugar by diet alone and all went well with no issues. One of my concerns was having to be induced or having a C-section due to the size of baby but she ended up measuring in the normal range and I was able to go into labor on my own.

I was so hopeful to go into labor on my own because I was induced with Eloise. I wanted to experience laboring at home without the need for medical intervention. I was able to do exactly that.

The Birth Story

I had started having some early labor signs a few days before delivery and at my last doctor appointment I was 2cm dilated and 50% effaced. I lost my mucus plug on a Thursday night into Friday and thought for sure I was going to have this baby soon. I also was having mild contractions that Saturday night but woke up Sunday morning and they stopped… Sunday was my official due date, November 8th. I knew it was getting closer but felt super impatient. On Monday I decided I was going to stay busy and walk as much as I could to get this baby out. My mom spent the whole day at the house with us and helped me get a few odds and ends done. I jokingly told her that night as she was leaving that it would be great to go into labor now because the house was clean, the floors were mopped, the refrigerator was emptied and the laundry was done. Everything seemed in order and I officially felt ready.

The baby must’ve been listening because around 4am on Tuesday, November 10th I felt the very first mild contractions. By 5am I decided to get out of bed and sip on some tea and start timing them. I texted my mom and told her I was having mild contractions but could be false labor as I had already experienced that a couple nights before. But by 7am the contractions had gotten stronger and were now 3-5 minutes apart. My mom was at our house by 7:30 and Luke and I left for the hospital. The hospital we were delivering at requires the mother to get a COVID test and only when that test comes back negative can dad enter the room. I was anxious about that whole process and wanted to make sure there was enough time to get checked in. I was checked in by 8am and got my test done at 8:30. Luke waited in the parking lot until the results came back. It took two hours to get the results and during that time I labored on my own in the hospital room. When the nurse checked me around 9:30 I was about 3-4cm dilated. Luke was able to join me around 10:30. By this time, the contractions had gotten super intense and the nurse asked what my birthing plan was in regards to medication and/or epidural. I told her I didn’t have a plan but that I would like to try for a natural birth with no medications or interventions. It’s always been a dream of mine to experience the birthing process naturally. I think I got the best nurse for the job. She smiled and said “okay so when you’re asking for an epidural at 8cm, can I give you some encouragement to go without?” I smiled back and said “encouragement is welcome.”

The next two hours flew by. Contractions were about a minute to 30 seconds apart and INTENSE. I asked her to check me again and I was 8-9cm dilated by 12:00pm. I had to pee so I decided to get up and go use the bathroom. Well, gravity and the pressure taken off of my bladder made things escalate QUICKLY. The nurse asked if I wanted to labor in a different position and asked if kneeling might be more comfortable. I agreed so she set up the hospital bed in a way that would allow me to get on my knees and wade back and forth with the contractions. I think I was only in the position for 20 minutes before things got real. I told the nurse that I was having some intense urges to push and she told me to go with it. Well I did and my water broke instantly (super wild feeling). She called my doctor and told him to get to the hospital ASAP. I knew in my mind that he was not going to make it. The pushing urges were strong and I could literally feel her coming down. I told the nurse “there’s no time, she’s coming now!” The nurse checked and sure enough baby’s head was right there. She called all the nurses in and paged the on-call doctor. Baby girl was not waiting for anyone.

Just six minutes after my water broke, I delivered her on my hands and knees at 12:44pm. During delivery I felt them behind me maneuvering her into a different position. That wasn’t super fun and I felt panicked at the thought of the baby getting stuck. It turns out the baby had shoulder dystocia which is when, after vaginal delivery of the head, the baby’s anterior shoulder gets caught above the mother’s pubic bone. They essentially had to push her back in and turn her around. NOT pleasant. But thankfully she came out with no fractures or injuries which is all I cared.

I will never forget this moment in time. I felt like the most badass woman in the world. I was on cloud nine and felt those happy hormones flooding my body. I felt so accomplished and just full of life. So thankful for my body’s ability to grow this human and birth her without interventions. A natural birth was something I had always wanted to experience but truly never really thought I could do. To be honest, if she hadn’t come so fast I may have ended up with an epidural but at a certain point it was too late and it was a “no turning back now” situation.

Recovery was amazing and so easy compared to my experience with Eloise. I had no tearing, little blood loss and soreness was very minimal. I was up and walking with Mila just a couple hours after birth and we were able to leave the hospital just a little over 24 hours. It was such a nice surprise to get settled in at home much earlier than anticipated.

I am so thankful for the experience that this birth offered me. It was truly the best day of my life so far. A day that reminded me of my strength as a mother and a woman. I have never felt more empowered and able.